Vice President Kamala Harris was back in the Bay Area Wednesday to raise money and campaign.
Supporters in Oakland and San Francisco lined up for both events, but she was also met with vocal protesters critical of the Biden administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
People who arrived late at check-in for Harris' event in San Francisco's Mission District had to walk a gauntlet of protesters, with some yelling insults at them. For those who arrived early, it was much more subdued.
"We're so excited that she's here," Santa Clara resident Doreen Castleman said. "So glad to be able to hear more about what they're doing now and to be able to support their work and to make sure that Biden stays in and that we stay blue."
"This is a wonderful Black woman that's a role model for our younger Black women," San Francisco resident Dale Seymoure added.
When asked about the vocal group of pro-Palestinian protesters, some said they understood their point of view.
"I would just say to them that the president and Kamala Harris are doing their best to manage a very difficult situation," Gloria Maceiko with the Assyrian Democrats of the Bay Area said.
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Protest organizers said words are not enough.
"It's great that we are welcomed, but what we need is action," Lara Kiswani with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center said. "Unfortunately, we've heard a lot of rhetoric from the Biden administration. Eight months in, it took them eight months to even mutter the words 'permanent cease-fire.'"
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Protestors were much more blunt both in their signs and in their speeches.
"The entire world is calling for us to stop arming Israel, and Biden and Harris cry their fake crocodile tears saying they care and too many civilians have died," one protester said.
Harris arrived at the Mission District event at about 2 p.m. and was gone by 2:40 p.m.
In Oakland, a smaller group met her motorcade as it zipped by to a fundraiser in the Rockridge neighborhood.
In San Francisco, the protest outside the event did get somewhat heated a couple hours before Harris arrived. Police cleared Valencia Street for several blocks outside the venue well before she pulled up.
